Monday, December 08, 2014

The last few months, I have been struggling with some personal issues, that I would love to share with you but I don’t know quite how without sounding like I’m whinging.

My health has worsened. To the point where I’m teetering on the edge of a total breakdown again, this time I’m emotionally stronger. But I’m not sure how long I will be able to last.

My creative impulses are still there but I’m not making anything new, I’m not writing hardly at all, what little creativity that is created is mediocre and not worth anyone’s attention. The new blog lies unused and unappreciated, as I am unable to cope with the level of stress creating a new form for this blog would entail.

The only really worthy creation is my novel, which is right in the middle of publication. Artwork and cover colours are really the only honest-to-good creation I am able to work on, and that is in conjunction with a layout artist and my editor, so my input is minimal.

Unfortunately, I can’t share that with you, not yet, because I’m anxious that the results be seen at their finish rather than half-way through.

Its closing in to the world’s biggest, most expensive festival, Christmas. Something I personal don’t celebrate, so I’m not even doing anything for that. I have a GREAT idea for a homemade decoration that could be customised for every occasion, but even that lies stagnant inside my head as I am too exhausted to even near my sewing machine.

Sometimes, there are moments in life when health, mental and physical have to take precedence over everything else. It seems that if I could just improve a little, I would have the impetus to get back to blogging, creating and sharing the results with you all.

At the moment though, I feel stuck in a rut. As if I had fallen down a deep pit and without a huge shift I can’t get out. No matter how hard I try to pull myself out, to call for help, to see the light I can’t. I merely wear my already worn body out.

So for now, you lovely readers will have to wait it out. I have hope to be able to show you my new book in the next few months.

Monday, August 04, 2014

Hey there, I know that I said that I would show you my painting today, and that it wouldn’t be just another recipe. The thing is I didn’t get time to even start painting this weekend, so instead I decided to show you my everyday survival kit

You Never Know

Ever since I was about 13 or 14 years old and my dad bought the SAS survival handbook I have been interested in knowing how to survive in difficult situations and lets face it life is full of those. I suppose you might call it a case of be-prepared mentality.

I have been alive and in this world for 32 years and my life hasn’t been what you might call typical of someone my age. I have reached the conclusion that most people don’t reach until their 50’s that life is un-plan-able. That the majority of things that happen to you are random acts of coincidence that you never even thought of let alone planned.

Sure you can plan a wedding, a baby or moving house even, those things are the things that you are in control of. You can plan to have further education and getting a degree, but you can’t plan having a career afterwards, at least not anymore, because that doesn’t rely solely on your ability to learn a new skill.

What I’m saying is that in this day and age we have to forever be prepared for those things that we don’t plan, good or bad that come into our lives without warning or notice.

A Lady’s Survival Kit

That’s why I carry a survival kit almost everywhere I go, and I’d like to show you what a woman can carry in her handbag without it being in anyway commando/bear grylls.

This is my survival wallet, its handmade from some material I had. I always have material of some sort around the house. It has press-studs instead of a zip, just recently I had to customise it again to get some new kit in it.

This! Its a Life Straw, or a portable water refiner that you can drink with. Its lightweight and easy to use. You simply put it in the water you are about to drink and suck like a regular straw. Always handy when you’re not sure if the water your drinking is safe.

My basic first aid kit: Its not going to help you splint a broken limb or sew up a wound, but with its plasters, sterile padding, wipes, painkillers and anti-histamine it will help you on a trip into the woods, camping or wearing a new pair of shoes.

Basic supplies: This is very basic, with this I can eat a few extra calories in a extreme survival situation and start a fire. It includes moist towellettes, tabasco sauce and fire lighting material. I would probably be able to survive two days on this while I was waiting to be rescued.

Nature doesn’t stop just because you’re stuck somewhere without a toilet. A girl has to be prepared for any unexpected moments, no matter where she is. Hairbrush and lipbalm are psychological survival aids. A woman always feels better with tidy hair, loose strands of which make excellent kindling, lipbalm can help with dry lips but also help as an accelerant along with the anti-bac hand lotion.

Your teeth and mouth are very important and linked to general good health, keeping teeth clean helps no only physically but psychologically. Sewing kit could be used to make things or even sew up wounds. My foldable cup is handy in any situation and these heat producing pads are excellent when trying to stay warm.

I forgot to photograph but also in my kit is a pack of cards, because boredom and worry are the worst things to have to combat whilst in any survival situation.

I depend on my survival kit, its helped with cuts, emergencies and sometimes entertaining small children. I try not to leave the house without it. It even helped me help a lady with a small child who had cut himself quite badly on some glass in the road, thanks to my kit I was able to offer a sterile pad and some plasters.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my survival kit, maybe it will make you consider building your own.

Thursday, June 05, 2014

Its that about time that I introduced you to another inspirationally creative person. This person’s name is Ester Montoya, and she’s originally from Barcelona, the place celebrated for Gaudi and awe-inspiring architecture, including the mind-blowing Sagrada Familia Cathedral.

Perhaps that’s why Ms. Ester is such a crafter, and when I say crafter I really mean artist. She makes toys, book covers, anything and everything, and the only thing she won’t make is clothing. She’s a creative ideas machine, pumping out gifts, and beautiful things for her home and friends.

She is inspiration all by herself, so I am very lucky that she consented to give me an interview.

Mrs Egeland’s Note: This was written by Ms. Ester, however I translated it.

Hola, my name is Ester. I was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain, in a beautiful neighbourhood very close to the tallest mountain of the city. Right now I live in Norway with my family. It has been a great change that has helped me value the dearest people that I have left behind, and to get lots of new friendships, some of them have become family so far away from my home.

How would you describe your style?

I’ve always loved Vintage style, because I’m drawn to objects and clothes from other eras, and as has been seen through time, fashions always return. Also I find Rustic style quite attractive, even to the furniture of the houses of that period. On the other hand, I’m passionate about country style, and I think its my favourite, perhaps because it brings me lots of happy memories of my childhood. But since I arrived in to live in Norway, the Nordic style has grown in me in an impressive way and its reflected in the way I decorate my home and all the things I design for it. Therefore, I consider that my own style is a combination of the various aspects of what I have mentioned.

I Love Vintage Style

How would you describe your interior design style?

Well as I have said, I love the Nordic style. In fact, the colour white predominates in my home because it gives me the sensation of space and light. I try to not overwhelm it too much, because I dream of one day having a minimalist home, but I still haven’t quite managed it….. Hehehe. I love to decorate my home with little things that I have made as well. I’m always making some fabric decoration, my favourites. I change them out and give them as presents, but I always have a new ideas, things that could be hung from curtains, or ornaments for any room.

I’m Immensely Grateful!

If someone were to give you a housewarming present what would you hope it would be?

I love presents, and so long as someone has thought about me, it really doesn’t matter to me what it is.. As they say, its the thought that counts. But if I was given the chance to choose, something to do with the world of crafting.. I love everything.. be it fabric, buttons, thread, scrapbooking paper, etc…. Just recently I received, together with other presents a Big Shot machine, to punch patterns into paper for scrapbooking. I love it, and the people that gave it to me know that I’m immensely grateful. And since you asking, today, I would ask for a sewing machine.. Mine is quite small and I would love to take my crafting to the next level.

In what aspect of your life do you think you were most creative?

This is an easy question to answer. When I had my son.. I always have carried inside a lot of creativity, I remember that since I was little I loved to invent my own stories and poetry.. In fact I have written two story books during my childhood and some poetry in my youth, I still have them and I’ve kept them with a lot of love. But when my son was born, my life changed a lot, everything changed, I think my creativity grew. I love making things for him, and as he’s gotten older, we make things together.. until today. I think he’s inherited my creativity and his father’s, that you could say is the double of mine. That’s why, lots of winter afternoon, we enjoy spending around the table, creating and sharing unique moments together.

An Antique Singer

Is their a favourite piece of furniture/art/decoration/clothing in your life, and what is it?

Yes, it’s my husband’s grandmother’s sewing machine. It’s an antique Singer with a treadle case. It’s inn my parents house, since it still works and my mother gets a lot of use out of it. For me, its not only a beautifully useful machine, but also an ornamental piece for the home, that gives a sense of stateliness and luxury.

If the worst happened and you had to rush out of your home and never return, what is the one thing you wouldn’t be able to leave behind?

There are lots of things in my home that I love, but I believe me when I say that I could leave it all without a problem. If tomorrow I had to abandon my things, I wouldn’t have a problem. Perhaps its because I have had to move and been obliged to get rid of things that were really important to me, and life has gone on and I haven’t missed anything. However there is something that, saying that I would try to save somehow, if there was a fire for example. Its my wedding album, and all the photo albums that my sister has made me over the years. I have them all in a box, they are my treasures.

Would you consider yourself a modern woman or do you love an era of the past, and if so, what era?

Well, although I love retro and Vintage styles, I consider myself quite a modern woman, in as much as I really like the look that we have today and those styles. Besides which, I like combining styles from the past with those of today, I think its a good way of never being bored with a style.

Mrs Egeland’s Note: Ms Ester has just described Modern Vintage, although perhaps she is more modern than vintage.

Love… Always Results in Success

What is your latest project?

Right now, I have a few on hand. At the moment I’m working hard on some orders for some brochure folders and some fabric cake carriers. At the same time, I’m making myself a photo album of the photos from my anniversary. I’m doing it little by little, and if for example, when I’m shopping, I see something that I think will go well with the album, well I buy it. So that still I don’t know what the final result will look like, but I’m putting all my love into it and that always results in success.

What is your passion?

Well, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, sewing and working with paper are two of my passions, that I love to spend most of my time on. But my life is dedicated to something more important, that’s my God and my family. Everything has its place, and although I’m passionate about these two hobbies, I always put the more important things first, as much for me as for my loved ones.

If there was one thing about your life that you could change, what would it be?

When I was younger, I always thought about the things that I should change in my life, but now, looking back, I think that I couldn’t change anything because every one of the experiences that I’ve had, good or bad, have made me into the happy person I am today. That’s why, I can only give thanks for all that I have, including you my friend.

Thank you for asking me to do this interview Davita. I’ve enjoyed answering your questions, its the first time I’ve ever done something like this. So I hope your readers enjoy it. I’m super happy to be a part of your project and I hope with all my heart that you are successful.

Mrs Egeland’s Reply: Thank you Ester for doing this interview. We wait eagerly for your tutorial.

If you would like to order anything from Ms Ester’s collection, or you are interested in seeing more of what she makes. Please comment below and I will make sure that your requests are passed on, please remember that there maybe shipping costs outside of Norway.

Subscribe! Don’t miss Ms Ester’s tutorial which we will be bringing you soon!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

We live in an age of finite space. Not all of us are lucky enough to own or rent large and spacious homes, in fact small cars and small apartments are the norm of city life and most of us live in cities where by definition space is premium. Interior design helps us create the illusion of space where no space exists.
My particular home is about 50 square metres, it has one small double bedroom and one wet/shower room. My kitchen, dining room and living room are all squeezed together in one room. It doesn’t feel cramped but I do spend a lot time putting things away, like most of us that live in a smaller home. My husband bought the apartment before we met so it seemed perfectly reasonable for us to live here after we got married. Just before we got married we renovated the flat, taking it from a studio apartment with separate kitchen to a one bedroomed apartment. We had a lot of help in arranging the flat from my parents-in-law after the reno and for the last four years I’ve been perfectly content with how the space worked.

Modern Home/Cosy Feel

Then last Easter weekend(17th April 2014) we visited some friends of ours who have four beautiful children. They live in a new build house that is in the what you might describe as new Scandinavia style. My dear friend Samantha however loves the feel of country cottage style and has taken the bones of her quite modern home and decked it out with a modern country cottage style, making it feel very cosy with her beautiful farmhouse dining table and six old fashioned dining chairs around it, right next to a beautiful floor to ceiling picture window. I was so in love with the idea that I just had to try it out and see if somehow I could achieve a feeling of space and still have my very old and somewhat decrepit dining table with its IKEA dining chairs nearer my large window. So I embarked on about an hour of heavy lifting with my patient and long suffering husband.

A Beautiful View Unseen

Our kitchen/dining/living room is very square, and for the last four years we’ve had our sofa pushed against one wall, our kitchen on another wall, our television on yet another wall and my dining table a dumping ground next to my over- filled bookcases which are against the same wall as the TV. We have a beautiful view across the Bergen Fjord, but for years we haven’t really been able to see it as well I thought it deserved to be seen. Why? Well two reasons:

The height of the window.

The position of the sofa.

The sofa was pushed up to the wall, in theory to maximise the view through the window, but since the sofa sitting position is much lower than say an upright chair, well all you could really see was the mountains of Askøy. I have nothing against those mountains, but I did feel like we were underestimating the view some what.
Also the position of my dining table though useful as a work table meant that it was more likely to be used as a dumping ground. Since it was right in front of the hall way door any thing that needed to used in the living area would end up on the table. We hardly ever ate there because it was always filled with random stuff that took too much effort to move. It was the bane of my housewife-ish aspirations, it never seemed to be tidy.
BEFORE: Gorgeous, of course, but not quite so good as….
…AFTER: Pure genius!

An Extra Room

Okay, so maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing. Interior design is an indulgent hobby of mine. I really enjoy trying to bring a new mood to some place. I feel like with this new arrangement of furniture I have gotten an extra room, from where I can type this blog, eat my breakfast, work on my numerous amounts of projects… etc. I love the fact I can now see our beautiful view in its entirety through the glass door, that I have acquired a more cosy conversational seating arrangement. It feels like a completely new space.
With interior design, out of the box is never wrong. Thinking in new ways is my new mission. I hope this gives you ideas, or at least impetus to see your own home in a new light. Please subscribe in the top left corner, and comment below.
Till next time.
Davita

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

I feel like somehow I've turned a corner in my life. That's not to say that I find life is easier these days, not at all! Life I find grows harder and harder with each passing year as the veils of naivete fall away from my eyes and my sarcastic skin grows harder. I've never been particularly ignorant, but I believe that loss of innocence at the true nature of life makes you see how stupid you really are. At a certain age you believe, naively enough, that you know everything there is to know about life. Then life kicks you in the teeth, and you realise that you've got a long way to go before you graduate from the university of life. Friends of mine critise my sarcastic attitude on life but it's my crutch, my protective wall. I still have a soft heart, which is why occasionally I get stomped on, but on the whole this protective wall keeps me relatively safe from the sticks and stones of life.

Not, I might add, from the heartbreaks that it brings me. But then I always was an easy target for a compliment and a cheeky smile, mostly they have accesories like commitment phobias and use and abuse attitudes. I suppose it's my own fault anyway, for allowing them in, in the first place, instead of keeping my protective sarcastic wall safely in place.

Likely as not I will never learn, but these days I have a different attitude to men. It's a "gotta be perfect" type attitude, that's to say perfect for me, perfect as in ideal. I'm fed up of being a kleenex to be used and thrown in the trash can (rubbish bin), I want longterm/eternal relationship. If I get my way it will also be very equal relationship, instead of what I've been used to... i.e mother, dolly bird and doormat. I completely understand that the first two come into play in any romantic relationship, but I refuse to be a doormat anymore! Respect in my book comes before love!

So what have we covered so far... not much. Sarcasm affects every part of my life, it's the tint, the dye that colours my view. Sincerity as I may or may not have said in the past is a big deal for me, I respect it because it's a rarity. Lots of people, at least all of my friends are sincere, that is probably one of the biggest reason why they are my friends. I suppose that my sarcastic tint colours those who 'appear' sincere, because on the whole I honestly believe 90% of the people I meet aren't as sincere as they appear to be. So my cynism creeps in and whispers things in my ear, I know a recent study says the cynics die soonest, but noone could live this life without a touch of cynism.

Really, and excluding a minute few, everyone is as cynical as me, aren't they?

I feel like somehow I've turned a corner in my life. That's not to say that I find life is easier these days, not at all! Life I find grows harder and harder with each passing year as the veils of naivete fall away from my eyes and my sarcastic skin grows harder. I've never been particularly ignorant, but I believe that loss of innocence at the true nature of life makes you see how stupid you really are. At a certain age you believe, naively enough, that you know everything there is to know about life. Then life kicks you in the teeth, and you realise that you've got a long way to go before you graduate from the university of life. Friends of mine critise my sarcastic attitude on life but it's my crutch, my protective wall. I still have a soft heart, which is why occasionally I get stomped on, but on the whole this protective wall keeps me relatively safe from the sticks and stones of life.

Not, I might add, from the heartbreaks that it brings me. But then I always was an easy target for a compliment and a cheeky smile, mostly they have accesories like commitment phobias and use and abuse attitudes. I suppose it's my own fault anyway, for allowing them in, in the first place, instead of keeping my protective sarcastic wall safely in place.

Likely as not I will never learn, but these days I have a different attitude to men. It's a "gotta be perfect" type attitude, that's to say perfect for me, perfect as in ideal. I'm fed up of being a kleenex to be used and thrown in the trash can (rubbish bin), I want longterm/eternal relationship. If I get my way it will also be very equal relationship, instead of what I've been used to... i.e mother, dolly bird and doormat. I completely understand that the first two come into play in any romantic relationship, but I refuse to be a doormat anymore! Respect in my book comes before love!

So what have we covered so far... not much. Sarcasm affects every part of my life, it's the tint, the dye that colours my view. Sincerity as I may or may not have said in the past is a big deal for me, I respect it because it's a rarity. Lots of people, at least all of my friends are sincere, that is probably one of the biggest reason why they are my friends. I suppose that my sarcastic tint colours those who 'appear' sincere, because on the whole I honestly believe 90% of the people I meet aren't as sincere as they appear to be. So my cynism creeps in and whispers things in my ear, I know a recent study says the cynics die soonest, but noone could live this life without a touch of cynism.

Really, and excluding a minute few, everyone is as cynical as me, aren't they?